


Black and Gold

by AppleSharon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 17:45:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8926438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleSharon/pseuds/AppleSharon
Summary: Yuri!!! On Ice Hogwarts AU. Yuuri is in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts when the next Triwizard Tournament takes place, allowing him to meet his idol, Viktor Nikiforov, for the first time.More pairings and relationships will be added as the story progresses.





	1. Selfies and Shutters

Squinting at the lingering sand slowly sifting down in the hourglass on Professor Okukawa's desk, he pushed his blue-rimmed glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. By his careful estimation, he had approximately five minutes remaining before the end of the written exam. His practical was scheduled for later that day. 

Five minutes was the perfect amount of time.

He sighed contentedly and began the deliberate process of checking his answers one by one, marking a small dot of ink with his quill on each answer as he completed his final check. At the bottom of his parchment, he signed his name, sans frills and flourishes — Yuuri Katsuki. 

"Time is up!" Professor Okukawa clapped her hands as the majority of the class groaned. Yuuri smiled with satisfaction, neatly tapping his parchment against the desk. His bangs tickled his forehead, disturbed by a rush of wind accompanying his seat mate's frantic sprint to the head of the class.

"Smile Professor Okukawa!" Phichit Chulanont yelled before turning a magical camera back towards them both. 

"Mr Chulanont! How many times have I told you not to take your selfies after every exam?" 

Her words lacked the necessary sternness to fully chide Phichit as she shook her head and smiled.

"This is an important life moment, Professor," Phichit responded with mock-seriousness. 

"It must be documented! The people have to know!" 

Professor Okukawa settled for making bunny ears over Phichit's head before whacking him on the shoulder with his rolled-up test parchment. 

Yuuri watched the scene with amusement as he gathered up Phichit's books and walked towards the front of the class. 

"He's just excited that you allowed him into your N.E.W.T.-level Charms class after only receiving 'Exceeds Expectations' last year, Professor." Yuuri said. Smiling, he handed Phichit his stack of books and parchment. 

"Yuuri!" Phichit turned to him dramatically, striking a pose beside his friend as the camera turned in their direction. "We must get a picture of Hufflepuff's finest as he aces the first exam of the term!"

Yuuri blushed and looked down at his shoes. Phichit clucked his tongue against his cheek in disapproval. The camera shutter clicked along with Phichit's signature, sepia-tinged flash. During their sixth year, Yuuri had spent many late nights in the cozy armchairs of the common room walking Phichit through different charms for his prized camera. 

"Filters, Yuuri! Filters!" Phichit had repeated over and over again with every charm attempt. "Like all of my muggle friends have on their phones!" Yuuri had simply smiled and shrugged.

Shaking his head, Yuuri snapped out of his momentary daydream, his thoughts interrupted by another thump of parchment against Phichit's shoulder.

"Get out of here you two," Professor Okukawa said, shooing them towards the door. "I have grading to do, after all."

Once outside the classroom, Yuuri turned to ask his best friend about the Charms exam but found that Phichit had already been waylaid by the second-year Gryffindor triplets.

"Axel! Lutz! Loop! My girls! What do you have for me?"

The three girls began to fill Phichit in on the latest Hogwarts rumors, chattering over each other. Bemused, Yuuri quietly trailed behind the four as they made their way down a long, shifting staircase.

"Emily Wilkes broke up with Patricia Singer after she found her cheating on her with Nancy Cutler!" Loop whispered excitedly. "And JJ might propose to Isabella Yang soon!"

"Ah, poor Em," Phichit said. Yuuri shook his head, smiling. Even in their seventh year, Phichit's genuinely caring nature towards everyone and anyone was a constant source of admiration for Yuuri.

"Briony Wilkinson is out of Sunday's match against Gryffindor with a broken hand," Axel said. 

"And the betting pool is now heavily in favor of Hufflepuff over Ravenclaw this Saturday thanks to Yuuri." Lutz stopped suddenly in front of Yuuri, batting her eyelashes coyly. Yuuri cleared his throat and instinctively took a step back, nearly tripping over the stairs. 

"When are you going to get a girlfriend Yuuri?" Axel prodded.

"Or a boyfriend?" Loop chirped.

"I'm very interested in this question myself, Yuuri!" Phichit said, sending his most charming grin in his best friend's direction.

Yuuri turned bright red, emphatically waving his free hand in front of his chest. He continued to lean back, away from the four eager pairs of eyes tracking his every movement. 

"Alas!" Phichit finally said after a long, awkward pause. "Yuuri will forever remain Hogwarts most eligible bachelor."

Yuuri snorted at Phichit's dramatics. The triplets nodded sagely.

"After all," Loop began.

"We know," Axel said.

"Who Yuuri really wants!" Lutz finished with a wide grin. 

"Viktor Nikiforov," all four busybodies said simultaneously. Yuuri's ears flushed purple. He shuffled his feet.

"Alright girls, I think that's enough jokes at poor Yuuri's expense for today," Phichit said, shooing away the triplets. "Keep me posted on the latest!" 

"C'mon eligible bachelor." Phichit turned to Yuuri, placing his hand on the small of Yuuri's back and pushing him forward a bit. "Let's go grab some lunch."

Yuuri rolled his eyes. 

The two were greeted with a beautiful autumn scene in the Great Hall. Red, gold, yellow, and purple leaves fluttered down from the ceiling, disappearing among the floating candles before they could near the floor. Sitting down at the near end of the Hufflepuff table, Yuuri murmured an appreciative hum as he ran his fingers across the plush brocade tablecloth that hadn't been present at breakfast. It was a shiny black with delicate gold piping. Hearing the sound of a camera shutter, he looked up to see Phichit happily snapping away.

"Phichit—"

"No, Yuuri! The people must see their idol in work, play, and . . . food?" Phichit shook his head briefly before positioning his face behind the camera once more.

Yuuri sighed. A bowl of soup appeared in front of him and he began to dig in, attempting to ignore the constant sound of the camera.

"That reminds me, Phichit—" Yuuri looked up to see his best friend smiling broadly at him, now seated on the bench with his own bowl of soup.

"I have something to show you later."

"Is it a phone?" Phichit asked. "Another camera? Oooh! Don't tell me you finally bought me a Quick-Quotes Quill!"

"Ugh, no." Yuuri couldn't help his slight disapproval from seeping into his voice. He knew that Phichit would never aim to hurt anyone, but his best friend's penchant for salacious gossip was not something that they had in common. He looked around the Great Hall again, determining that they would likely have an audience if he were to reveal his new spell, a surprise charm for Phichit, here. He involuntarily shuddered. Audiences were the worst possible thing he could imagine. 

"Just remind me later, okay?"

Phichit nodded and settled onto the bench.

"They're really going all out for the Triwizard Tournament, hunh? Phichit asked. Yuuri hummed an affirmative, his mouth full of potato leek soup. "You know—" Phichit began with a gleam in his eye.

"Phichit," Yuuri said. "I told you I'm not entering."

"Yuuuuuuuri," Phichit whined. "You're at the top of our class. You're a prefect. You're smart enough to be in Ravenclaw—"

"The sorting hat said I didn't belong there, actually."

Phichit's eyes widened and he leaned towards Yuuri with a look usually reserved for whispering tidbits of news with the Gryffindor triplets. "Really?" 

A bit taken aback at Phichit's sudden enthusiasm, Yuuri leaned away and swallowed a mouthful of soup.

"Y-yeah," he said, still caught off-guard. "I thought I told you when we were in first year. It said I didn't have 'a love of learning.'"

Phichit pondered this for a moment before nodding. "That actually makes a lot of sense. You're more stubborn than anything else— ow!"

Yuuri's elbow made contact with Phichit's side. The two looked at each other, grinning widely before bursting into laughter. A few other students turned their heads towards them — Phichit's laugh was loud and booming, with an ability to make even the coldest of hearts melt — and Yuuri blushed, ducking his head.

"Anyway, I can't," he said. "All those people watching . . . it just isn't for me."

Phichit opened his mouth as if to contradict Yuuri, but stopped at the look that flashed momentarily across his face. Breathing a sigh of relief, Yuuri lifted another spoonful of soup to his mouth.

"So," Phichit began, changing the subject. "Do you think _the one and only Viktor Nikiforov_ will be on Durmstrang's shortlist?"

He giggled again as Yuuri began to choke on his soup, reaching for the nearest goblet of water.


	2. Professor Baranovskaya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yuuri!" JJ tossed him one of his soon-to-be-patented megawatt smiles. "How have you been?"
> 
> "Ah, I'm doing just fine, JJ," Yuuri said, nervously running his fingers through his hair. "The same as always." He managed a half-hearted smile. JJ smacked him on the back and Yuuri nearly fell over, gasping for air.
> 
> "You'll never fool anyone with that smile, Yuuri! Confidence! It's the key to life! Just remember what I told you last night at the prefect's meeting."
> 
> "Y-yeah." Yuuri only had vague memories of the prefect's meeting, but did remember that JJ's booming voice had resounded throughout the hall for most of it.

"I'm so sorry! I'll make it up to you!"

Bewildered, Yuuri looked down at his Potions partner who was currently prostrating herself in front of her cauldron at their shared bench. Her hands were clasped in front of her face as if she was in the middle of a prayer, one of them bandaged tightly. Long brown bangs obscured her forehead. Slowly one of her eyes opened as she peered up at him with an apologetic smile that was somehow still full of her usual mischief. 

"Briony I—" 

Yuuri paused, suddenly deep in thought. Phichit had said something about Briony the other day, hadn't he? Or perhaps it had been one of his informants, the triplets. 

"You're hurt!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's what I just said," she laughed, pulling herself up off of their Potions bench. "I'm in your care today, Yuuri! Even more than usual." 

"Miss Wilkinson!" 

A sharp voice pierced through the chatter. The entire class fell silent. 

"Is there a reason why you feel the need to make a fool of yourself in front of Mr. Katsuki, delaying your setup time?"

Briony had the good grace to look somewhat rebuked, hanging her head. Yuuri couldn't tell whether she was actually ashamed or simply playing along.

"No Professor Baranovskaya." The sing-song lilt to her voice told Yuuri that it was far more of the latter than the former.

"Get to work."

Briony sidled up to Yuuri and whispered in his ear. "She's just mad that I can't play this weekend."

Slytherin House had narrowly beaten out Hufflepuff last year, and although the upcoming tournament would take the place of the House Cup this year, tensions between the two houses were high. The games this weekend were all exhibition show matches, agreed upon prior to their arrangement, but the mistress of Slytherin was commanding and proud. She expected nothing less than excellence.

"How did you break it anyway?" Yuuri asked. He pulled on his dragon hide gloves, flexing his hands and smiling at the feel of them. Potions was his favorite subject and his gloves were the perfect amount of broken-in without being too worn. To his surprise, Briony blushed in response.

"A-are you okay?" Yuuri had never seen his Potions partner — and sometimes Quidditch rival — anything but devious and calculating.

"I'd rather not say," she finally said primly, rubbing her ears nervously with her unbroken left hand. "Besides, you might tell Phichit and then everyone will know."

"I would never!" Yuuri looked seriously affronted. Briony bit her lip and patted him on the back. 

"I know, I know," she said. "I just, I'll tell you later or something."

Yuuri quirked an eyebrow at her cagey response, but he wasn't one to push. In the two years that they had been partnered in Potions, he'd never seen Briony rattled. She was devious, ambitious, and tried to take too many shortcuts for his liking, but never flustered. He put this information away for later. Phichit might know something, even if she hadn't told him directly. 

"So I have to do the heavy lifting hunh?" he tried for humor, knowing that Briony would slip into their usual banter soon enough. 

"Yeah, I know it's rough to be the brawn for once, Katsuki," she said, squeezing his arms and pulling a face in mock disgust. 

"Did they give you the Skele-Gro?" Yuuri couldn't help but wrinkle his nose while he asked.

"Ugh, yes it was awful." She looked down woefully at her right arm. "It still hurts and is somehow itchy at the same time."

"Yeah, I'm well-acquainted. Nasty stuff." Yuuri shuddered.

With Briony out of commission for the day, Yuuri was free to move at his own pace. He felt badly about his happiness at being able to diligently read the directions multiple times before even touching an ingredient. For her part, Briony looked a bit chuffed at his delight, hiding a devious grin behind her injured hand. 

"I always knew you wanted to be rid of me, Yuuri," she said as he painstakingly weighed out their portion of crushed red horn. A cloying, sweet smell arose from the scales.

"N-no! Never!" Yuuri jumped back from the table apologetically. He blushed and bowed his head, carefully raising the small scale to sprinkle the red horn into their cauldron. As expected, their Sanguine Solution turned a brilliant red.

Briony shook her head and laughed. "It's okay. I know I take too many shortcuts for you."

"If you just would follow the instructions a tiny bit more, you would—" Yuuri stopped himself, hanging his head sheepishly. She grinned in triumph.

"That's why you're the 'Potions Master,'" she said. Her nickname for him had stuck a bit with the sixth and seventh-years, at least to the point where he no longer blushed every time someone called him that. Before he could think of a retort, Professor Baranovskaya was at their table.

"Good work, Mr Katsuki," she said, peering down into their cauldron. She narrowed her eyes. "Miss Wilkinson, I presume you've been doing something to help out Mr Katsuki besides chattering at him while he's trying to do the work of two, despite your injury." The word 'injury' rolled off of her tongue sharply as if to imply that Briony was somehow feigning her broken hand. Yuuri trembled a bit at her coldness. Professor Baranovskaya was a wonderful Potions teacher, but Yuuri never felt comfortable around her. 

"I'm his moral support," Briony quipped. The professor narrowed her eyes even further, watching the two as Yuuri slowly ladled the finished Sanguine Solution into their presentation flask. It gleamed ruby red behind the glass. 

"Beautiful," Professor Baranovskaya said. She accepted the flask from Yuuri, tucking it into her robes and nodding once. "See me after class, Mr. Katsuki."

Yuuri felt the blood drain from his face as she walked away, heels clicking crisply on the cold stone floors of the dungeons.

"What did you do?" Briony hissed.

"I don't know!"

"Well you must have done something!"

Yuuri moaned, sinking down onto their bench. He didn't even bat an eye when Briony quietly whipped out her wand to clean out their cauldron with a spell, rather than scrubbing it the old-fashioned way — the Yuuri and Professor Baranovskaya-approved method. Unfortunately for his Potions partner, the professor had an eagle eye. 

"Since I cannot dock you house points, Miss Wilkinson, I'll see you in detention on Sunday."

"But Sunday's the—" Briony wisely shut her mouth, cutting off any words of protest, once she saw the look on Professor Baranovskaya's face.

"She is scary," Briony whispered to Yuuri.

"Don't remind me," Yuuri moaned.

There were fifteen students in total that took Professor Baranovskaya's N.E.W.T.-level Potions class. Thirteen of them filed out of the room immediately after class was over, including Briony who squeezed Yuuri's arm for luck before walking out. Only Yuuri and Head Boy Jean-Jacques Leroy remained. 

"Yuuri!" JJ tossed him one of his soon-to-be-patented megawatt smiles. "How have you been?"

"Ah, I'm doing just fine, JJ," Yuuri said, nervously running his fingers through his hair. "The same as always." He managed a half-hearted smile. JJ smacked him on the back and Yuuri nearly fell over, gasping for air.

"You'll never fool anyone with that smile, Yuuri! Confidence! It's the key to life! Just remember what I told you last night at the prefect's meeting."

"Y-yeah." Yuuri only had vague memories of the prefect's meeting, but did remember that JJ's booming voice had resounded throughout the hall for most of it. 

"Mr Leroy, Mr Katsuki," Professor Baranovskaya said, returning from the doorway to her desk. "I presume you both know why you are here?"

"I will do my best to do Gryffindor and Hogwarts proud!" JJ responded immediately. At the same time, Yuuri mumbled a quiet, "No, Professor Baranovskaya." 

"Yuuri! Of course you do! The tournament is approaching. As potential champions of this magnificent school, we must first consult our professors to ensure that we are ready to take on this most daunting of challenges!"

"O-oh."

"I assure you, Professor, I will not let you down!" JJ continued, flourishing his words with a slight bow.

"I'm certain that you will not," the professor replied. "Thank you Mr. Leroy, you may go." JJ beamed and strode out of the room. Yuuri tried to slink after him, but stopped in his tracks when he heard the piercing voice of Professor Baranovskaya once more.

"Mr. Katsuki! Do you not wish to enter the tournament?"

"I uh . . . I don't think I will, Professor." Yuuri winced and stared at his shoes, physically bracing himself for her disappointment. Instead, she stood up and walked over to him, slowly placing her hand on his shoulder. He tried not to flinch.

"Professor?" 

A flash of sadness flickered across her harsh facial features before her stern look appeared once more.

"You would make a fine Hogwarts champion, Mr, Katsuki," the professor said. She gave him a slight push towards the door. "Think about it."

"I— Yeah. Yeah I'll think about it."

Yuuri had thought about it. He had thought about it more than anyone could possibly think about it. Pieces of ripped up parchment were uncharacteristically scattered underneath his pillow, the remnants of several pro and con lists. Ultimately none of the lists mattered. He knew he wasn't strong enough to compete in front of a large crowd, so he had decided not to enter at all rather than fail in front of his entire school — in front of Viktor Nikiforov, who was almost guaranteed to be Durmstrang's champion. JJ would make a good champion. He was perfect for an event like this and, as much as Yuuri was generally uneasy at his outgoing personality, had both the confidence and the talent to pull it off. Yuuri grit his teeth, wiping stray tears from his eyes with his fist. 

"Yuuri!" Phichit rounded the corner of the dungeon stairwell. "Is everything okay? Briony said you had to stay after class!" Phichit cocked his head to the side in concern when he saw Yuuri's slightly red eyes and balled-up fists.

"Oh, it was nothing," Yuuri said. "Just Potions stuff."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more than a few original characters as well, although all of the main pairings will be characters from Yuri!!! On Ice.


	3. The Goblet of Fire

"Aspiring champions have precisely 24 hours to submit their names for consideration. Remember, it is a great honor to be simply considered as the champion of your school. 

Headmistress McGonagall's words echoed inside Yuuri's head. 

He looked down at his hand, opening up the fist he had unwittingly made, knuckles white from clenching his fingers. A folded scrap of parchment peeked up at him on his palm. "Yuuri Katsuki — Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Seventh Year, Hufflepuff House." 

Yuuri was certain that he hadn't needed to include his school, his year, or his house. The Goblet of Fire was a historical magical artifact, surely it would recognize his school and house. He looked down past his open palm at the grey line on the ground. Slowly, he edged his toes over the age line, hesitant despite being of age. 

"What am I doing?" he groaned allowed.

"By the looks of it, you're entering your name into the Goblet of Fire." A silky voice echoed in the dark Great Hall.

Yuuri whirled around. Behind him stood none other than Viktor Nikiforov. The Russian chaser cocked his head to the side with a smile, silver ponytail swishing at his shoulders.

"Entering at night when no one is around? You'll rob your fans, Yuuri."

"H-how—" Yuuri squeaked and jumped back from the age line. His fist immediately curled tightly around the piece of parchment that held his name, ruining his carefully folded lines.

Viktor shrugged. 

"I'm Viktor Nikiforov," Viktor said, holding out his hand in a greeting, as if Yuuri wouldn't know who he was. 

Yuuri reached out his hand, forgetting about his parchment until it fluttered to the floor, just beside Viktor's left foot. Amused, Viktor withdrew his hand and picked up the small scrap of paper.

"Yuuri Katsuki — Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Seventh Year, Hufflepuff House," Viktor read aloud. His sentence was punctuated with laughter. "Well, you certainly gave the goblet enough information to go by."

"Well, I—"

"You're funny, Yuuri Katsuki — Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Seventh Year, Hufflepuff House," Viktor said with a smile. He held out the piece of paper to Yuuri who quickly grabbed it from his hands, staring at his feet throughout the entire exchange. After a long moment, Yuuri looked up again only to see that Viktor was still staring at him, smiling gently. 

"After you," Viktor said with a polished bow. 

"O-oh, no I really couldn't. I mean— I'm not going to— I mean."

Viktor tilted his head to the side again and burst out laughing. 

Blushing, Yuuri looked at the traitorous floor, which had refused to swallow him whole and prevent this embarrassing exchange from happening.

Viktor drew close, running his hand softly down Yuuri's cheek. 

"I would love to compete with you," Viktor purred into Yuuri's ear, moving ever closer.

Yuuri gasped and shot up in his bunk bed. His head crashed into the bed above him with a crack. Whimpering, he sank back under his covers, squirming and rubbing his forehead. There would likely be a bruise tomorrow. 

"Yuuri?" Phichit whispered sleepily from above.

"I-ah. It's nothing! Nothing!" Yuuri's voice was high-pitched and loud, earning him a "Shhhh!" noise from across the boys dormitory. "It's nothing, Phichit. Go back to sleep. I'm fine," Yuuri whispered.

He rolled over onto his stomach, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head and other, more inconvenient, places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a pretty slow burn, just so you all know. A lot of questions and details will be revealed throughout the entire fic, which is all plotted out. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy!


	4. Patience Conroy

Before every game the same routine. 

Wake up at 7 a.m. sharp. Quietly dress, taking extra care and time to not wake his dorm mates. Eat breakfast alone, early, before anyone could talk to him about the upcoming match. Head down to Hufflepuff's stadium quarters. Trim his broomstick before the match, and before Patience could get a hold of him to practice her team speech. 

Yuuri hadn't been sleeping well lately so 7 a.m. became 6 a.m. Dressing quietly was ruined as soon as he sprang from bed, crashing his head onto Phichit's bunk, again. Gathering bits and pieces of his dignity, Yuuri quietly walked down the stairs to the Great Hall, which was nearly empty, as expected. Breathing a sigh of relief, 

"Good luck today, Yuuri!"

The cheerful voice chirped from his right side. Yuuri turned to see Leo de la Iglesia waving at him from the center of the table, peering around the latest issue of The Daily Prophet.

Although Yuuri had wished to be left alone, he couldn't help but smile at the friendly Hufflepuff third year.

"Hey, Leo. How are you?"

Leo folded his paper and scooted down the bench to Yuuri's side. Once closer, he studied Yuuri curiously, blinking three times before shaking his head slightly. When he opened his mouth again, it was with a genuine smile. 

"I'm doing just fine. Getting a head start before the big game?" Leo's voice was probing, leaving just enough open for Yuuri to voice any nerves or apprehension he might feel with a gentle hint of warmth.

Yuuri smiled back, grateful that Leo wasn't pressing the issue. He didn't take the third year up on his unspoken offer. 

"Well, you know me." Yuuri shrugged and tilted his head, blushing sheepishly. "Me and my routines."

Leo nodded slowly. Opening up The Daily Prophet once more, he folded the paper inversely, lengthwise, and pointed to a picture in the sport section. 

"Montrose Magpies defeat Cork," Yuuri read aloud. Underneath the headline, a witch beamed up at him, smiling as a snitch beat its tiny wings ferociously in a losing effort to escape her grasp. He looked at Leo, confused. Leo smiled again. 

"I'm still not really used to it, you know? Pictures moving."

"Ahh," Yuuri responded. He hadn't forgotten that Leo was a muggleborn — that and their obsession with cell phones and muggle social media had cemented Leo and Phichit's friendship since Leo had trotted over to the Hufflepuff table after his sorting — but also hadn't really thought about things like wizard photographs.

"Also," Leo paused for a moment, looking deep in thought and perhaps a bit guilty, although it was possible that Yuuri was just imagining things. "Quidditch is a bit weird, when you think about it."

Yuuri waited for Leo to finish. The third year often meandered through conversation dreamily, interrupting himself with further tangents. 

"It's a game where all of a person's efforts can be undone by a single play," Leo continued. "I doubt that any of my friends back home would play something like it — in the muggle world," he added for emphasis, although Yuuri knew exactly what he meant. 

"I-I— I'd never thought about that," Yuuri said. He meant it. Yuuri hadn't really bothered to think about what quidditch meant. The rules were the rules, and he'd followed them since he was young, chasing after his older sister Mari on a beat-up, hand-me-down broomstick. 

"It's because of a bird," Leo continued. At Yuuri's visible confusion, Leo explained. "I looked it up."

"Oh," Yuuri said. "I do remember hearing something about that once." 

"Are you sleeping alright?" Leo asked suddenly. Yuuri stammered out a meek and unconvincing, "Yes." He avoided Leo's eyes and looked down at the fruit plate that had appeared in front of him a few minutes ago. Leo gave him a sad smile.

"I know it's none of my business, and I'll leave you alone after this, but just so you know, you have an entire house of people that care about you. More than that, really."

Yuuri blushed and nodded. "Th-th-thanks," he managed to mutter. As Leo stood up to leave, Yuuri stood up beside him, momentarily blocking the third-year's path.

"Thanks," he said more firmly. "Really. Thank you."

A wide grin spread across Leo's face and he nodded. "Good luck today, Yuuri." 

Nodding, Yuuri picked up an apple and sighed. He appreciated his housemates' concerns, but he wasn't exactly eager to confide in them about his recent insomnia. He found himself exiting the Great Hall, half-eaten apple in hand as he made his way outside, towards the quidditch pitch.

"What am I even supposed to say?" he mused aloud. "Oh, I've been having this recurring wet dream about Viktor Nikiforov. It gets hotter and heavier every night and just before I wake up—" Yuuri stopped himself, looking around the empty stadium hallway nervously. Another blush colored his face as he hid his expression by taking another, overeager bite of his apple. 

Once he reached the Hufflepuff stadium quarters, he neatly placed his apple core in the rubbish bin. Already dressed in his game robes, Yuuri pulled out a small roll of cloth that held his broom cleaning tools and began to attend to his broom. 

Before every game the same routine.

He lost himself in neatly clipping bristles and stray twigs, sanding the top of the handle just the way he liked it so his gloves and feet would have the perfect amount of grip. Before he knew it, a half hour had passed, the chiming of the clock in the distance the only thing that snapped Yuuri out of his reverie. 

"Look alive, Katsuki!"

A cheery voice followed the last echo of the chimes, announcing the arrival of the Hufflepuff team captain, Patience. Yuuri dutifully folded up his broom kit and stood up expectedly, waiting for Patience to dump the heavy equipment chest into his outstretched arms.

"You know, Katsuki. This might be the last time we do this," Patience said. Yuuri smiled warmly at her.

"I don't think your hair has been the same color once, Captain Conroy," Yuuri said, ribbing her a bit. Patience burst out laughing and wrinkled her face. Gold, not blonde but gold, highlights grew through her ink black hair. 

"Hey, I'm getting better at controlling it. A bit." 

"What's it like?" Yuuri asked. He tried not to sound overeager. Patience looked startled at the sudden question, but then tapped her lips briefly in thought.

"Being a metamorphmagus, you mean?"

Yuuri nodded.

"Sometimes it's fun," she said. "Sometimes it's frustrating. Sure you can change your appearance at will with training but you can't really hide your emotions without that same training." 

Patience and Yuuri exchanged a look, both remembering one of her pre game speeches where her hair and face had turned fire-engine red.

"It just seems nice," Yuuri said lamely. "Being able to become someone else."

"I guess so," Patience said. "I've never really used it much for that reason though. I don't know, I guess I've always wanted to be myself." 

Yuuri nodded. He didn't particularly want to become anyone else either, he just wanted to be a less embarrassing version of himself. 

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence. Yuuri set the equipment trunk on the sidelines of the pitch, opening the cover to reveal the bludgers and golden snitch straining against their leather and magical confines. The wind howled through the hoops, a welcome sound to Yuuri's ears. He closes his eyes, allowing the low, morning rays of sunlight to wash over his face, bangs tickling his forehead.

"Oi, Katsuki!" 

Startled, Yuuri fell back onto the pitch, catching himself with one hand.

"Don't injure yourself before the match!" Patience warned. She then held out her gloved hand with a smile, helping Yuuri up off of the ground. "It's been a few great years hasn't it?" 

"Don't get all sentimental on me now, Coach Conroy," Yuuri teased, elbowing her gently. She elbowed him in turn, almost shoving him back onto the pitch.

"They could have been many more years if somebody hadn't been so afraid to try out," she said pointedly. Yuuri had the good graces to duck his head and blush. Suddenly Patience was in his face, mere inches away, staring at him intently. Yuuri gulped. After a moment, she shook her head and sighed.

"There's no point in ordering you to do it, is there?" she finally said, following another pause.

Yuuri shook his head, confused.

"The Triwizard Tournament," Patience clarified.

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'Oh.'" She mocked Yuuri before coiling her index finger and her thumb, flicking him on the forehead. Yuuri yelped and stumbled back in surprise. "It's just like when this nervous, intelligent, talented kid refused to try out for the Hufflepuff quidditch team until fourth year when his friends forced him to."

"Heya, Coach Conroy! Yuuri!" The deep, booming voice of Jaehyuk Kang echoed across the pitch. Other members of the team were arriving. 

"Hi Jae," Yuuri said shyly. The sixth-year beater still intimidated him a bit. 

"Oh, one last thing I wanted to ask you about." Patience grabbed Yuuri's arm, pulling him away from the gathering team. Yuuri looked at her quizzically. 

"Briony Wilkinson. Your potions partner." Yuuri continued to look at Patience somewhat dumbly, but slowly nodded. 

"Is she uh, single?" Patience asked, blushing.

A loud crash was heard from the Hufflepuff side of the stadium. When Yuuri looked up, Patience was wincing, still gripping his arm as she waited for him to answer.

"Y-your eyes," Yuuri finally said, holding back his laughter. "They're purple."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed Yuuri's age in Chapter 3. Thanks for all of the comments and sorry for the mistake.


	5. Imago Vera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I can call you Yuuri, right? I'm Phichit Chulanont! I figured we'd all want to take selfies now that we've been sorted! I can't seem to post them here for some reason. There's really bad reception in here, Yuuri! Did you know that?"
> 
> The dark-haired boy mashed a cell phone into Yuuri's face. The screen was glossy, and whatever had been on it had already blinked out of existence, leaving it almost mirror-like, with Yuuri squinting bewildered at his own reflection on the dark surface.
> 
> "I have an Instagram account even though my mom says I'm not supposed to have one until I turn 14. Parents are so behind the trends these days."

_No one had asked Yuuri Katsuki what he had felt walking up to the raised platform of the Great Hall, the one obviously reserved for faculty members and staff, how he felt in that moment. Thousands upon thousands of students had been in his position, and thousands and thousands more would likely follow._

_Had they asked him, his answer would not have been audible._

_Out of sheer terror, he may not have answered at all._

_His older sister Mari had told him that the hat would eat him if he was insubordinate. Yuuri knew that, logically, this was improbable, if not impossible. A prestigious wizarding institution like Hogwarts wouldn't allow it. Logically, Yuuri knew a lot of things. Yet, Yuuri's heart easily overrode his thinking processes. As one of the professors placed it on his head — they may have asked him to take it, but paralyzed with fear, Yuuri was in no position to recognize or respond to their words — Yuuri curled his hands into tight fists and smashed his eyes shut with a force that scrunched his entire face beneath the hat's wide brim._

_"There, there. I'll not eat you."_

_A voice sounded inside his head. Yuuri trembled._

_"Great deal of courage, not that it comes easy to you, eh? Loads of ambition, and even a cunning wit about you if I do say so myself . . . you're a bright one but don't have a love of learning unless it comes to—"_

_"HUFFLEPUFF!"_

_Yuuri fell off of the chair, startled. Tears began to pool slowly in his eyes as he walked to the still-cheering table of smiling students. None of their faces were familiar. None of them had fallen off of the chair._

_As Yuuri sat down in one of the few available sections on the Hufflepuff benches, he rubbed his eyes with his still-closed fists. He opened them to a blinding flash._

_"Yuuri!"_

_He opened his hands to cover his ears._

_"I can call you Yuuri, right? I'm Phichit Chulanont! I figured we'd all want to take selfies now that we've been sorted! I can't seem to post them here for some reason. There's really bad reception in here, Yuuri! Did you know that?"_

_The dark-haired boy mashed a cell phone into Yuuri's face. The screen was glossy, and whatever had been on it had already blinked out of existence, leaving it almost mirror-like, with Yuuri squinting bewildered at his own reflection on the dark surface._

_"I have an Instagram account even though my mom says I'm not supposed to have one until I turn 14. Parents are so behind the trends these days."_

_He said this with an exaggerated sigh that coaxed a slight giggle out of Yuuri. Yuuri sniffed, wiping the last few tears from the corners of his eyes._

_"Cell phones aren't allowed here," Yuuri said softly._

_His voice was nearly a whisper. No sooner had the words left his mouth than Yuuri shrank away from Phichit, trying to make himself as small as possible on the wide bench. Surely Phichit already knew that. Surely he would be mad at Yuuri for pointing out something so obvious. Surely–_

_"Ah-ha! That makes sense! I'm a muggle, by the way. I think that's what they said anyway."_

_Yuuri stared at him, cocking his head to the side slightly while sniffling._

_"I'm not from a magical family," Phichit clarified. He shrugged his shoulders briefly._

_"Oh"_

_Yuuri couldn't think of anything else to say._

_"You're not very talkative are you, Yuuri?" Phichit smiled, leaning over the slight boy to put his arm around him. "Don't worry! I have loads of things to talk about! And so many questions!"_

"So this is where Yuuri has been hiding all this time."

Startled from his daydream, Yuuri blinked to see Phichit smiling widely over him, his arm around Yuuri's shoulders.

"I'm not hiding," Yuuri said with a soft smile. "I'm observing."

Following their rather anticlimactic victory over Ravenclaw, Phichit had thrown what he called, "A proper Hufflepuff party" in their common room.

A proper Hufflepuff party, according to Phichit, was open to anyone and everyone. It was equally, if not more, raucous than a Gryffindor party without the constant affirmations of the house's glorious achievements through the years. Slytherin parties had their elegance, their exclusivity garnered hordes of slavering fans from both inside and outside of Slytherin attempting to get on the guest list, but Phichit's proper Hufflepuff parties gave them a run for their money and then some. The guest list may have been rolls of parchment longer, but a good time was always guaranteed.

Hogwarts' most famous party planner now squinted at Yuuri suspiciously.

"I'm really not hiding, I promise. I was just thinking," Yuuri said.

Phichit knew Yuuri well enough to realize that Yuuri wasn't wholly done with his thought. Patiently, he slid next to Yuuri onto the corner couch, where Yuuri had been quietly watching the festivities, brushing off the occasional partygoer who wobbled over with congratulations, trying to foist a cup of firewhiskey into Yuuri's hands.

Yuuri shuddered at the nearby table, where a copper lamp was surrounded by goblets and disposable cups. Drinking was never a good idea.

His thoughts were interrupted by a blinding flash. Yuuri was too slow, only lifting his hands in front of his face once the stars were fading from his view.

"Our victorious quidditch star!" Phichit cheered. How he had managed to, once again, sneak his muggle cell phone past the teachers was beyond Yuuri.

"Oh!"

Yuuri stood up suddenly. Grabbing Phichit's wrist tightly, Yuuri dragged his friend through one of the low, round doors that led to their dormitory. Once in their bedroom, he pushed Phichit onto his bed.

"Yuuri, if you'd wanted to have your way with me, you could have just asked nicely." Phichit punctuated his sentence with a wink. Yuuri responded by pulling Phichit's patchwork quilt off of the top bunk and throwing it over his giggling body.

"Do you have a muggle photo?" Yuuri asked.

It took Phichit a moment to untangle himself from his quilt. He had settled for thrashing around inside of it instead of moving or vanishing it with a spell, which made Yuuri think that perhaps Phichit had drank more than a bit while making his usual rounds at the proper Hufflepuff party. Finally, Phichit emerged, black hair sticking up wildly. Reaching up to smooth it down, Phichit was rewarded with a jolt of static electricity.

He glared at Yuuri fleetingly before his mouth sprung back into a smile.

"Yeah sure!"

Phichit rummaged through their nightstand before brandishing a black and white photograph of two people smiling at each other. It looked a bit old and faded.

"What for?" he asked.

Yuuri scrunched up his face in concentration, staring at the photograph intensely.

Phichit burst out laughing.

"Yuuri, what are you even doing? Have you been drinking?"

"Shut up!" Yuuri snapped. "I can't do it if I can't concentrate."

Phichit continued to giggle softly at the intense look on Yuuri's face. He didn't even notice that Yuuri had pulled his wand out of his robes until Yuuri tapped it to the image and whispered, "Imago vera."

Movement spread across the surface of the photograph like ripples through water with the tip of Yuuri's wand at the center. Yuuri handed the photograph to Phichit, nervously wringing his hands together after dropping it into his friend's open palms.

The two people in the photograph, a man and a woman, reached towards each other, embracing passionately before turning to Phichit and waving.

"Remember when I told you that I had something to show you the other day?"

Phichit sat, dumbfounded and a bit pale.

"Um, well this is it!" Yuuri spread open his arms with a flourish before noticing that Phichit still had yet to speak, or do much of anything but stare at the now-moving photo.

"Uh, so I haven't perfected it yet. And, uh, it basically just charms them into displaying the emotions they had when they took the photo, so it can't really do much else. Oh! And it wears off in five minutes so it's not like a wizard photograph but kind of close right? Seunggil helped me a bit with this. I was surprised since usually he just wants to study by himself and not really teach anything to other people. And uh, who are those people anyway? Phichit? Are you okay?"

Yuuri knew that he was rambling, but the sudden quietness of his best friend unnerved him.

"They're my grandparents," Phichit said, looking up at Yuuri with unshed tears in his eyes. "They died when I was younger."

He then placed the photograph gently on their nightstand before crushing Yuuri into a hug. Yuuri relaxed into Phichit's embrace, simply grateful that his gift had been well-received. After a few minutes had passed, Phichit released Yuuri, wiping his own eyes briefly before staring at Yuuri in awe. Uncomfortable, Yuuri looked away.

"This is actually brilliant? You know that, right?"

Yuuri shrugged.

"You're a shoo-in to win the Triwizard Tournament, Yuuri! You have to enter!" He waved his hand in the air, physically brushing off Yuuri's unspoken worries. "You'll have an entire house, no an entire school, behind you."

Oh, that.

The Triwizard Tournament.

Yuuri enjoyed a proper Hufflepuff party as much as anyone, even if it meant that he was comfortably watching from the sidelines, basking in the comfort of familiar friends. Yet this specific celebration had been tinged with worry. Yuuri hadn't lied to Phichit per se, he wasn't hiding from people at the party or the party itself, he was attempting to hide from his own thoughts and failing miserably.

What had been a comfortable deadline of a few weeks — giving Yuuri ample time to procrastinate and forcibly push all thoughts and outside queries of his participation to the side — was now a mere matter of days. Yuuri slumped onto his bed next to Phichit, who had leaned over the nightstand and was poking at the moving muggle photograph in awe.

"Leo said something similar this morning. You, I presume?"

The words left Yuuri's lips with a familiar air of certainty, as if Yuuri couldn't believe that Leo would possibly think to encourage Yuuri on his own, without Phichit's prodding.

Phichit sighed.

"Yuuri, what would it take to convince you that there are people in your house, no, even outside of Hufflepuff, who adore you and want nothing more than for you to be their champion?"

Yuuri shrugged again. It wasn't that simple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the lack of updates. This story is not abandoned.
> 
> Also, Yuuri/Viktor interaction will happen shortly, within the next few chapters. I'm sure most reading this are already growing impatient with the lack of it, hehe.


	6. Axel Nishigori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's him."

At nine years-old, Axel Nishigori chopped off her hair.

It wasn't an accident, or a piece of magic gone awry. She and her sisters had taught themselves lumos in an attempt to read late into the night and had been swiftly punished for stealing their mother's wand. Since then, all Axel had attempted was tea leaf divination from sketches in her mother's old copy of Unfogging the Future. On the first page, her mother had written her name: Yuuko Itou. Axel had also found her father's name, Takeshi Nishigori, scribbled in the margins. 

"What's the worst that could happen?" her mother had said to her father as she handed the book over to an eager Axel. 

"It's not like she wants to become a bird or blow things up."

This statement was followed by a pointed look at both Lutz and Loop who had plastered angelic smiles on their faces as they stood behind Axel under the guise of patience. They had also both quickly abandoned Axel for other endeavors that afternoon once they realized that she was trying to take this seriously rather than make up catastrophic death scenarios for their parents. Axel spent the evening ill from drinking too much tea. 

The next day, without warning, she chopped off her hair with an old pair of kitchen shears. Lutz and Loop followed suit. Their mother and father had spent the rest of the day yelling at them and subsequently correcting their hairstyles so the length was even all the way around. 

"I didn't even think to try doing this with magic!" Axel had said, still unaware of the severity of her impending punishment. Her mother simply shook her head and murmured something about Axel being the oldest by a few seconds. 

At eleven, just before they entered school, Axel was the only one who sported a longer hairstyle. Her two sisters had chosen to keep their shorter-haired looks, opting for matching ponytails on opposite sides of their heads. To tell them apart, a blue hair tie for Lutz and a red one for Loop. In solidarity, Axel used a matching hair tie in her favorite color, yellow. Upon entering Hogwarts, Axel stubbornly stuck to her longer hair to the confusion of her two sisters.

"But you can't trick people that way!"

"C'mon, it will be super fun if no one can tell all three of us apart!"

"You've always been a bit more serious than the two of them," her mother had said while brushing Axel's long hair. 

Now, at twelve and into her second year, Axel prided herself on her long hair. She continued to experiment with odd hairstyles, learning several different kinds of braids while always sticking to her signature yellow hair ties, despite the fact that the color was no longer needed to tell her apart from her sisters. 

"You don't need it though," Phichit's best friend, Yuuri Katsuki had told her once. 

Axel had been relaying Lutz's report on Maggie Summers' Hogsmeade date gone awry, since Lutz had caught some sort of virus while trailing after Maggie and her now ex-boyfriend Braylon Bayer. Phichit had remarked how refreshing it was that he didn't have to answer a riddle in order to tell her apart from another Nishigori sister. Confused, Axel had cocked her head to the side, studying Yuuri carefully as if this was the first time they had met. 

"Y-you're a bit more serious." Yuuri looked uncomfortable as he said this. 

"Also, don't tell anyone but, t-that's my favorite jump," he had said shyly. "In muggle figure skating." 

"Yuuri's a big fan!" Phichit had explained, tossing an arm around his best friend's shoulders. 

"So is my mother." Axel's voice came out a bit more eagerly than she had expected. 

This had been followed by a blush and Yuuri pushing his glasses up onto his nose with his index finger. Axel hadn't cared how cliché this entire scene had been, and had remained smitten ever since. 

If given a choice, Axel would still choose to be a triplet every single time. She would also choose to keep her hair long, and to fall in love with Yuuri Katsuki, even if she couldn't act on it. 

Today Axel had Yuuri duty. This was assigned based on the fact that Axel was the one that Yuuri was the least afraid of — Lutz and Loop insisted that he didn't shrink away from Axel with as much terror as he did either of them — and a less intrusive class schedule. When Axel tried to make the point that they still all had the same classes, her sisters had simply giggled and trailed after Phichit.

By her estimation, Axel had six minutes until the welcoming ceremony for the rival schools. Her task was to monitor Yuuri from the moment he left his Arithmancy class to his arrival in the Great Hall. She was to document his every reaction for Phichit's newsletter. Phichit had placed great emphasis on taking pictures of Yuuri's reaction to Viktor Nikiforov, and ensuring that Yuuri didn't try to skive off and avoid the opening ceremonies completely. 

"Do whatever it takes to get him there," Phichit had said. "I'm counting on you!"

"Yeah whatever—"

"—it takes!" her sisters had said cheerily, bringing their hands together in a heart-shape while wiggling their eyebrows. Axel didn't really want to know how they had learned to leer like that. She felt a bit left out. That and Phichit had taken her two sisters to see the actual arrivals of the two schools. She had it on good authority that Durmstrang appeared in the Great Lake on a magnificent ship, and Beauxbatons arrived in a gigantic carriage driven by winged horses. 

Axel clenched her fists. She was going to demand pictures. 

"Axel?"

She jumped as someone placed a hand on her shoulder. Yuuri stumbled backwards, acting as startled as if she had called out to him. 

"Yuuri!" she exclaimed happily. Although she technically had ulterior motives, guiding Yuuri to the Great Hall, documenting his every expression — "every expression, Axel," she could hear Phichit's cheery voice inside her head — this hardly meant that she wasn't genuinely excited to see him. 

"Just headed to the Great Hall for the Triwizard Tournament ceremony!" She paused to elbow him teasingly like Lutz or Loop. "I heard Durmstrang was preparing on quite the show this year."

"Y-yes, well, uh."

Before Yuuri could come up with the excuse that Axel assumed was on the tip of his tongue, Axel pulled out her mother's well-worn copy of Numerology and Grammatica from the sleeve of her robes.

"I really like Arithmancy," Axel said. "I'm going to take it next year."

Yuuri furrowed his brow. Axel began walking in the direction of the Great Hall, breathing a small sigh of relief as he automatically followed her.

"I thought you were going to take Divination next year?"

Yuuri remembered, Axel happily thought to herself. 

"That and Arithmancy. I'm going to have the future covered!" She pumped her fist in the air, laughing a bit. 

He smiled at her. 

"I think you only need one," he said. "Are you that curious about what happens to yourself?"

Axel paused before the entrance to the Great Hall, a bit taken aback. 

"Oh, I don't want it for myself," she said. 

Before Axel could explain any further, their conversation was interrupted by a flock of bluebirds chattering and singing as they flew in formation past Yuuri and Axel, changing patterns as they briefly hovered over each house table. They were followed by a small group of students in blue robes and blue feathered caps. At the front of the group, a pair of young men carried flowering lilies. Once they reached the dais at the back of the hall, the two men winked at each other, crossed their wands, and coaxed the white flowers to grow in arching vines across the sky, creating a live trellis for the bluebirds to sit. Axel gasped. Only when she looked over to see a delighted expression on Yuuri's face did she remember that Phichit had told her to take pictures. A faraway-sounding voice announced the arrival of Beauxbatons Academy. 

"Yuuri," she whispered, producing a small camera from her left robe sleeve. She quickly snapped a picture of his face before motioning an apology. 

"We should head to our tables," he said. Axel nodded, contorting her arm a bit in what she hoped was a discreet motion to snap another picture for Phichit. 

As Axel turned to the Gryffindor table, snow began to fall from the sky ceiling. The birds and flowers had vanished and the members of Beauxbatons had sat down at an empty spot at the Hufflepuff table. Axel could already see Phichit chatting merrily with one of the young men who had led the group. 

"It's him."

Yuuri said this breathlessly. Axel steeled herself for a twinge of jealousy that never came. 

Viktor Nikiforov passed the two of them before they could head in opposite directions to their house tables, a flurry of snow and an impeccably organized squad of students in red robes trailed in his wake. His eyes gleamed as he placed his palm to his lips and blew a few snowflakes in their direction. They landed on Yuuri's cheek. Yuuri slowly trailed his fingertips over his his face, which had gone completely white. 

"Yuuri, did Viktor just blow you a kiss?"

Yuuri wobbled on his feet without responding. Axel didn't have the heart to take a picture at that moment, and prepared for a minor scolding from her gossip-hungry sisters when reenacted the scene later in their common room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably tell this scene from a few different angles. Once I started writing about Axel I couldn't stop so hopefully I'll be able to flesh her out more as this goes on. 
> 
> As always, unbeta'd and probably not all that great, but hope a few of you are enjoying this.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the result of an idea that I couldn't get out of my mind. I know it's been done before (and with better writing) but *shrug*


End file.
